was a friend of Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith, who created the bestselling Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck in 1909. He probably discussed tarot symolism with them before they designed the cards. The tarot’s reach extends far beyond poetry. Some writers have based entire novels on the cards. In 1932, Charles Williams wrote The Greater Trumps—a fantasy novel that involves a magical tarot deck and a set of corresponding figurines that spin in a perpetual dance of life. In 1969, Italian author Italo Calvino used tarot decks to devise The Castle of Crossed Destinies, a fable about travelers who find themselves stranded in a forest, mysteriously deprived of the power of speech. They share their stories by laying out tarot cards; the book is illustrated with the cards they use. During the late 1970s, Piers Anthony produced a three-volume set of novels set on the faraway Planet of Tarot, where the cards come to life: God of Tarot, Vision of Tarot, and Faith of Tarot. At least two collections of tarot-inspired short stories have been released: Tarot Tales and Tarot Fantastic, published in 1996 and 1997 respectively, both feature sixteen stories by a variety of authors—all based on the magic of the cards. And, of course, some writers use tarot cards to structure their stories. When Francesca Lia Block wrote The Hanged Man in 1999, she opened each chapter with a card. Lynn C. Miller followed suit with The Fool’s Journey in 2002.
A Machine for Writing Stories There is no better brainstorming device than a deck of tarot cards—and this book will show you how to turn those cards to your advantage. Tarot for Writers will guide you through every stage of a writing project, from conception to execution, and later through the rewriting and editing process. You’ll even learn how tarot cards can help you market, publicize, and promote your work. But first, you’ll need to get your hands on a deck of tarot cards.
All Hands on Deck You can use almost any tarot deck with this book, as long as it’s a standard pack of seventy-eight cards. Those cards should consist of two parts: the Major Arcana, which is Latin for “greater secrets,” and the Minor Arcana, or “lesser secrets.” The Minor Arcana should have four suits—typically called Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles—and each suit should have ten numbered cards and four Court Cards. Make sure the deck you
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